HEADING TO SERBIA – North Bergen standout wrestler Anthony Giraldo, who won the 126-pound state title in March, added a national crown to his resume, taking the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman Wrestling National Duals title in Dayton, Ohio last weekend.

High Tech High School junior and North Bergen High wrestler Anthony Giraldo is not resting on his laurels after becoming a state wrestling champion last March.

Giraldo, the Guttenberg native who became only the fifth wrestler in Hudson County history and the second from North Bergen High to win an NJSIAA state championship, went to Dayton, Ohio last weekend and competed in the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman Wrestling National Duals.

In the tourney, Giraldo, who won the 126-pound state title, won the 63 kilogram weight class title and earned the right to compete in Serbia later this summer to represent the United States as part of the FILA World Championships.

It’s just another excellent achievement for the impressive young man, who has also become involved as a youth wrestling coach, teaching the skills he learned to other local youngsters. Giraldo knows the true meaning of giving back…

Secaucus’ Cardeisha Forteau continues to be a track star on the rise. At last week’s NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I state meet, Forteau won four medals. She was second as part of the Patriots’ 4x100-meter relay, second in the 4x400-meter relay as well, then was third in the 200-meter dash and third in the 400-meter dash.

Forteau, only a sophomore, is definitely an athlete to watch, not only at this weekend’s Group I meet at Egg Harbor, but in the years to come…

USA Football’s “Heads-Up” safety program will hold a clinic at the Giants’ Rolex Training Facility this weekend, with youth football coaches from all over the tri-state area participating.

The head clinician will be none other than former Memorial standout athlete and local football coach Gabe Infante, now at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia.

Infante will be instructing the coaches in helmet and shoulder pad fitting, concussion awareness, Heads-Up tackling training and drills. It’s all to help prevent injuries on the youth football level.

It’s a great honor for Infante, who had a great career at Memorial and later Holy Cross, to be associated with such a phenomenal program…

It was great to see former Lincoln standout quarterback Lamar McKnight come back to his alma mater and talk to current members of the Lions’ football program, after McKnight just recently signed a letter of intent to play quarterback at NCAA Division I Tennessee State. It’s important for kids from the Jersey City public schools to have such positive role models and realize that they can get to go to college if they do the right thing and study hard now.

The message is apparently being heard, because Penn State just recently sent a recruiter to the school to meet with three Lions players. That’s a great head start…

Rutgers-Newark will hold its 12th annual summer basketball program for children ages 7-17. The program is run from July 8-12, July 22-26 and July 29-August 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, contact R-N head basketball coach Joe Loughran at (973) 353-1483…

It’s great news to hear that local sports celebrity Ed Lucas will host the Gene Michael Celebrity Golf Classic, Awards Dinner and Auction at Brooklake Country Club on Monday, Aug. 26.

Lucas is no longer affiliated with the Concordia St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, but he’s still hosting the tournament he started, with help from the former New York Yankees shortstop and general manager.

All the proceeds of the tournament will go to the Ed Lucas Foundation, which helps needy blind and sight-impaired people to advance themselves in life.

For further information about the foundation and the tourney, log on to www.edlucasfoundation.org. It’s a great organization and a worthy cause, headed by one of the finest humanitarian’s in Hudson County history…

In softball, there’s only one team left standing in the NJSIAA state playoffs, as county champ Secaucus moved on to the North 2, Group I sectional title game against Hanover Park.

In baseball, there are two teams still standing, namely county champ St. Peter’s Prep and defending state champ Marist in their respective Non-Public brackets _ Prep in Non-Public A North and Marist in Non-Public B South… -- Jim Hague